6 Heel Trends That Are Giving Flats a Run For Their Money

Flats have been the talk of the town all year, so this might earn me a few enemies, but I don’t mind saying it: I’m kind of over them. While many have thanked fashion’s higher powers for bringing back a comfortable and stylish option, I’ve never personally been a flats person, and the few pairs I have tried have failed to become my true go-tos. In the wake of the flats renaissance, I’ve still clung to the few inches of height that I can get. And now thankfully for me, my flat-shoe fatigue is being met with an influx of especially fresh and forward heels that I’m predicting could mark an end to flats as we know them.

Sure, the spring 2024 collections still contained plenty of ballerinas and loafers, but they also offered several cool ideas on how to get some height. Forget what you think you know about traditional pumps feeling dated or tired because the new shapes, fabrics, and embellishments you’re about to discover here will redefine modern pumps as we know them. Whether it was through the employment of luminous satin or the reintroduction of an elegant shape for kitten heels, this season is providing more reason than ever to reach for those few extra inches. It’s not goodbye to flats, it’s just see you later—cool pumps are officially heating up in 2024. See which six heel trends are giving them a run for their money.

Almond Pumps

(Image credit: The Row; @hoskelsa)

In case you haven’t noticed, we’re dialing the clocks back to the 1950s and ’60s fashion-wise and revisiting some of the defining items of the era. One such revival we’re noticing is the return of almond-toe pumps, a style of heels that feature rounded toes, low kitten heels, and glove-like uppers.

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Buckle Details

If your closet is in need of a pair of classic point-toe pumps but you’re allergic to buying anything too plain, buckle adornments might just be the heel trend that you’ve been looking for. I love that these slimmer buckles and strappy silhouettes add a little something extra to the classic shoes. On the F/W 23 runway, Miu Miu paired its viral buckle slingbacks with thick contrasting socks, a styling idea that makes the fancier heels feel especially casual and cool. 

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Slanted Heels

Ferragamo is one of the most exciting brands right now, if you ask me, and the accessories department is arguably its strongest. I’m in love with the slated heel shape they’ve been doing on their mules and pumps that gives such a fresh look and feel to the skinny heels and it’s a silhouette I’m starting to notice bubble up elsewhere now, too. The angular stilettos just feel so sleek and modern.

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T-Bar Pumps

(Image credit: @olympiamarie; @endlesslyloveclub)

Speaking of all things retro, T-bar pumps are all of a sudden on my radar. I blame The Row’s Cyd Pumps for turning my attention towards the style with their nondescript kitten heel and micro cutouts. Similarly, modern takes on the 1950s pumps are popping up all over the map from Ferragamo to Reformation, too.

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Lustrous Satin

(Image credit: @darjabarnnik; Launchmetrics Spotlight/Altuzarra)

Nothing says spring quite like the arrival of all things pretty and delicate. Mark our words: As soon as these long winter months are officially behind us, we’ll be slipping our feet into a pair of shoes coated in lustrous satin. The trend popped up on the runways of Altuzarra and Prada, where we saw satin heels in an array of candy hues like powder blue and lime green. Now that they’re starting to trickle into the market, we can’t help but swoon over every pair we see.

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V-Shaped Vamps

Little details often make the biggest impact with shoes and one that’s defining 2024’s new wave of cool pumps is V-shaped vamps. ICYWW, vamps are the part of a shoe that sits on the top of your foot, so these striking Vs cut a noticeably sleek and polished silhouette on whoever wears them.

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